HighView Development Group met with the Des Moines Airport Authority Board this week to provide details of their plan to work with the Wild Rose Casino group to create a casino and hotel at the Des Moines Airport. The Authority Board was not in favor of the $225 million plan and told developer Reggie Sinah that they were not convinced that the plan would work.

Details of the Proposal:

The casino is projected to bring in as much as $80 million in revenues which would pay for a new terminal at the Des Moines Airport. In January, details of the plan were provided, showing a 350 guest room hotel connected to the airport and parking lot via skywalks. The property would also include restaurants, meeting and event space, rock garden and more.

The Airport Board was brought the idea at the time but decided to table it until this February meeting. During the meeting, board member Mark Feldman stated that in an earlier presentation, Sinah had talked about hurdles to overcome. Feldman pointed out that the board cannot be told to ignore potential issues because Sinah does not agree with them.

According to the source…

Not a single board member put forth a motion for the plan. A vote never took place regarding any type of approval. For the plan to work, it would have to be approved by the board and put forth via a countywide referendum vote.

Disappointed but Expected:

After the meeting with the board, Sinah stated that the result was disappointed, but it was not unexpected as there are a lot of politics involved. The developer plans to meet with Wild Rose and see if any legal action can be taken to continue to push for the Iowa casino.